SHANGHAI K.I.C.

The San Francisco office of Skidmore Owings and Merrill created the urban and architectural design for this new commercial and cultural center in northeast Shanghai. The Shanghai Knowledge & Information Community is located in the Yang Pu district, which hosts the largest concentration of research institutions and universities in the city. Now, at the advent of China’s economic revolution, the knowledge infrastructure of this district will drive a new center for commerce, innovation, and technological research. The hub is composed of four mixed-use buildings that will be the community’s commercial and cultural center. These first-stage buildings feature office, retail, and learning-center elements and are integrated with two landscaped plazas, an historic stadium, and a transit corridor to create a vibrant, pedestrian-oriented community where people will live, study, work, and relax.

AAA’s Randolph Ruiz was heavily involved in this project’s urban design and led design work on one of its prototype buildings.